Automatic bar feeder attachment for multiple spindle screw machines

ABSTRACT

In a spindle bar machine having a hollow spindle through which a workpiece bar is cyclically advanced, a feeder formed of an elongated housing arranged transversely to the bar and rockingly mounted upon a machine shaft by a journal formed upon one end of the housing, with a motor arranged within the housing, and having a constantly rotating drive shaft extending out of the opposite end of the housing and carrying a roller arranged to periodically peripherally engage and longitudinally thrust the bar for advancing it. The housing is rocked about its journal towards and away from the bar by a housing cam follower engaging a machine rotated cam.

United States Patent 72] Inventor Josef Eichenhofer 120 Oakdale Road,Downview 479, Ontario, Canada [21] Appl. No, 884,653

[22] Filed Dec. 12, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 17, 1971 l 54] AUTOMATIC BARFEEDER ATTACHMENT FOR MULTIPLE SPIN DLE SCREW MACHINES 6 Claims, 7Drawing Figs.

3,372,449 3/1968 Jamison ABSTRACT: In a spindle bar machine having ahollow spindle through which a workpiece bar is cyclically advanced, afeeder formed of an elongated housing arranged transversely to the barand rockingly mounted upon a machine shaft by a journal formed upon oneend of the housing, with a motor arranged within the housing, and havinga constantly rotating drive shaft extending out of the opposite end ofthe housing and carrying a roller arranged to periodically peripherallyengage and longitudinally thrust the bar for advancing it. The housingis rocked about its journal towards and away from the bar by a housingcam follower engaging a machine rotated cam PATENTED AUG] 1 I97! FIG. I

SHEET 1 [IF 2 INVENTOR JOSEF E ICHENHOFER B 7 M, (2%

ATTORNEYS PATENTED M181 7 l9?! SHEET 2 UF 2 INVENTOR J JOSEF EICHENHOFERBY 35% M 4(M FIG? ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF INVENTION In conventionalmultiple spindle screw or bar machines, a number of bars or rods aresupported within spindles which are advanced or indexed from station tostation where various cutting and machining operations are applied tothe workpiece. After the bar or rod workpiece is indexed through thevarious work stations, it is advanced through the spindle so that thenext increment of the workpiece may be indexed through the workstations.

In the past, manually operable locking and advancing mechanisms wereprovided. Thereafter, attempts have been made to provide an automaticadvancing or feed mechanism for advancing the bar workpiece at theproper time.

An example of such an automatic feed mechanism is illustrated in theU.S. Pat. No. 3,203,608, to Mogolis, granted Aug. 31, 1965. Such feedmechanism is relatively complex and requires some modification of thebasic spindle machine.

Hence, attempts have been made to form a feed attachment which can beapplied to a spindle machine without modifying the machine at all. Anexample is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,449, to Jamison, grantedMar. 12, 1968. Here, an automatic feed attachment was added to thespindle bar machine which was otherwise unmodified.

The invention herein relates to a further improvement in such anautomatic bar feed attachment wherein the feed mechanism is considerablysimplified and made more compact and particularly so formed as to absorbconsiderably greater loads thereby increasing the life of the attachmentand reducing maintenance thereon.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION In summary, the invention herein contemplatesforming an automatic feed mechanism comprising a housing within whichthe drive motor is mounted, with one end of the housing formed as ajournal for journal mounting upon a support shaft forming part of thespindle machine, andwith the drive roller mounted upon the opposite endof the housing and driven constantly by the motor shaft. The roller ismounted upon an outer shaft which fits over and is secured to the motorshaft and which forms part of a cover or end cap which overlaps thehousing and which is supported by bearings thereon, thereby transmittingthe transverse forces applied to the roller directly to the housingrather than solely to the motor shaft, thus reducing the strain on themotor and prolonging its life.

The housing is rocked towards and away from the workpiece bar by meansof a suitable cam follower engaging a cam mounted upon an operating drumdriven by the spindle machine. Thus, by properly timing the cam, theroller contacts and longitudinally thrusts and advances the workpiece atthe proper time during the cycle where the workpiece is to be advanced.

The overall construction herein is relatively lightweight, compact andeasily mountable and removable from the spindle bar machine so that itmay be provided as a separate attachment to existing machines.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention become apparentupon reading the following description, of which the attached drawingsform a part.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. I is a schematic view, partially in crosssection, of a portion of a conventional multiple spindle screw or barmachine.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine illustratingthe attachment herein mounted in operative, bar advancing position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the operation of the drive motoragainst the workpiece bar.

FIG. 4 is an inner face elevational view of the timing cam.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the attachment, and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but in cross section.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view, partially in cross section, of several ofthe parts forming the attachment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a portion of aconventional multiple spindle screw or bar machine generally designatedas 10. The portions of such machine which are relevant to the inventionherein are generally described as follows:

The machine includes a head stock 11 which contains a number ofrotating, hollow, drive spindles 12 each containing a conventionallocking collet or chuck 13 operated by a collet control shaft 14 forlocking and unlocking against the workpiece bar or rod 15 which extendsthrough the spindle.

Typically, the bar is initially of a considerable length such as in theorder of 10 feet, and extends rearwardly to a tailstock 16 havingsuitable journal openings 17 for supporting the end of the bar.

A bracket 18 secured to the collet control shaft is moved forwardly andrearwardly by a drive or operator rod 19 which is controlled bymechanism within the headstock for locking and unlocking the collet 13during the proper time wherein the bar is to be advanced.

The machine also includes a rearwardly extending machine shaft 20 and arotatable operating drum 21.

The general operation of this type of machine involves moving therespective spindles, with their locked workpiece bars, through variouswork stations wherein tooling cuts and otherwise machines the ends ofthe bars. After completing the indexing cycle, the workpiece returns tothe advancement position or loading and unloading position wherein thecollet 13 is loosened by moving its control rod towards the right asshown in FIG. 1, and at that point moving the bar for advancement, alsoto the right, and then locking the collet again for again indexing therod through the work stations.

All of the foregoing mechanism is conventional and does not form anypart of this invention and thereby is described only generally andbriefly for purposes of understanding the background and use of theinvention herein.

The automatic feeder attachment comprises an elongated, cylindricallyshaped housing 26 within which a motor 27 is arranged. Preferably, alightweight, constantly operating pneumatic motor may be used.

The motor drive shaft 28 extends outwardly of one end of the housing,which end is closed by a cup-shaped cap 29 which loosely overlaps thehousing and is rotatably supported thereon by means of suitable bearings30.

The cap is formed with an integral, hollow, stub shaft 31 which receivesand is secured to the motor drive shaft 28 for rotation thereby.

Mounted upon the stub shaft 31 is the bar drive roller 32 formed of tworoller halves 33-34 arranged face to face with the half 34 in contactwith the base of the cap 29.

The roller is secured to the stub shaft 31 by mcans of a key 35 whichpermits roller 33 to slide axially of the shaft towards and away fromroller half 34.

A peripheral bar receiving groove 36 is formed in the roller, with eachhalf of the roller likewise carrying half of the groove formation.

The roller halves 33-34 are spring urged against the base of the cap 29by means of a spring 37 preferably formed n the shape of an annular,truncated cone of springy metal. The compressive force of the spring maybe adjusted by means of a nut 38 mounted upon the threaded end 39 of theshaft 31.

The opposite end of the housing 26 is provided with a closurecap 40whose forward end is formed as a wrench grasping portion 41 (see FIG. 5)and whose rear end is formed as a journal plate 42 having an end portionor cover 43 suitably bored to provide a journal opening 44 of a size torotatably receive the machine shaft 20 for mounting the attachment uponthe spindle machine.

The cover 43 is secured to the journal plate 42 by means of cap screws45 or the like so that the attachment may be mounted upon the machineshaft and readily demounted therefrom as desired, for replacement andservicing.

A downwardly extending bracket 46 is secured to the housing and carriesa cam follower roller 47 on a roller support shaft 48.

Mounted upon the machine operating drum 21 is a cam 50 having a faceopening cam groove 51 with an offset cam portion 52, the groove beingdimensioned to receive the cam follower roller 47.

The motor 27 may be powered by a compressed air source transmitting thecompressed air through an air hose 53 connected to a fitting 54extending through the housing and to the motor. Alternatively, asuitable electrically powered motor may be used in place of thepneumatic motor.

OPERATION In operation, the attachment is rockingly mounted upon themachine shaft 20 by arranging the journal opening 44 around said shaft.Thus, the attachment may rock upwardly and downwardly in a planetransverse to the workpiece bar 15.

The motor 27 is continuously operated so that its shaft 28 rotates thecap 29 and the driver roller 32 mounted thereon.

The cam 50 is so timed that when the collet 13 is unlocked, that is whenthe workpiece is ready for advancement, the follower roller 47 is movedupwardly by the offset cam portion 52 to thereby rock the housingupwardly, placing the drive roller in peripheral contact with the bar.At that point, the outer roller half 33 may move axially, against theforce of the spring 37, away from the inner roller 34 to better graspthe bar and provide a longitudinal or axially directed thrust foradvancing the bar. When the collet 13 again locks the bar, the housingis rocked downwardly to end the contact between the roller and bar. Thecycle is repeated for each of the bars carried by the spindle machineduring the proper sequence of time.

Having fully described an operative embodiment of this invention, I nowclaim:

I. In a spindle bar machine having a hollow support spindle throughwhich a workpiece bar is extended, with lock means for cyclicallylocking and unlocking the bar against longitudinal movement through thespindle, and including a machine shaft arranged parallel to but spacedfrom the bar and a rotating drum spaced from both the bar and themachine shaft, the improvement comprising:

an elongated housing having a journal formed on one end thereof, thejournal being rotatably mounted upon said machine shaft for positioningthe housing for rocking movement upon the shaft in a plane transverse toand towards and away from the bar;

a drive motor arranged within the housing and having a constantlyrotating drive shaft extending outwardly of the opposite end of thehousing;

a drive roller, arranged axially transverse to the bar,

mounted upon and connected to the drive shaft for constant rotationtherewith, the housing and drive shaft being of a length to bridge thespace between the machine shaft and bar so that the roller peripherallycontacts the bar, when the housing is rocked towards the bar, forexerting a longitudinally directed thrust thereon for moving the barthrough the spindle;

a cam follower secured to the housing and interengaging with a camsecured upon and rotated by said rotating drum, the cam being formed tomove the follower and thus rock the housing towards the bar when saidlock means is unlocked and permit the housing to rock away from the barwhen said lock means is locked.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, and including a cupshaped,rotatable cover fitted over and receiving said housing opglosite end;

t e base of the cover being formed with a centrally located hollowmounting shaft into which the motor drive shaft extends and is secured,so that the cover rotates with said drive shaft;

said roller being fitted upon and secured to said mounting shaft withone face of the roller arranged against the base of said cover.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2, and including support bearingsoperatively arranged between the wall defining said cover and theportion of the exterior wall of the housing received within said coverfor rotatably supporting the cover upon the housing and for therebytransmitting transverse loads applied to the roller through the cover tothe housing.

4. A construction as defined in claim 2, and said roller being formed asinner and outer roller halves with the inner half arranged against saidcover base and the outer half being slidably mounted upon the mountingshaft for axially sliding towards and away from the inner half;

and a peripheral, bar receiving grove formed in the peripheral edge ofthe roller, with each of the adjacent peripheral edges of the rollerhalves formed into one half of the groove;

and an adjustable spring mounted upon the mounting shaft for springresisting movement of the outer roller half away from the inner rollerhalf when the bar is received within said groove.

5. A construction as defined in claim 4, and said spring meanscomprising an annular, truncated conically shaped spring surroundingsaid mounting shaft and having an annular edge engaging against theouter roller half and its opposite annular edge engaged against a nutaxially adjustably mounted upon said mounting shaft for adjusting thespring compressive force.

6. A construction as defined in claim 1, and said cam followercomprising a roller and said cam comprising a disk having a continuousroller receiving groove formed in one face thereof, with a portion ofthe groove being spaced further from the disk axis than the remainder ofthe groove, for rocking the roller and thereby the housing towards andaway from the bar.

1. In a spindle bar machine having a hollow support spindle throughwhich a workpiece bar is extended, with lock means for cyclicallylocking and unlocking the bar against longitudinal movement through thespindle, and including a machine shaft arranged parallel to but spacedfrom the bar and a rotating drum spaced from both the bar and themachine shaft, the improvement comprising: an elongated housing having ajournal formed on one end thereof, the journal being rotatably mountedupon said machine shaft for positioning the housing for rocking movementupon the shaft in a plane transverse to and towards and away from thebar; a drive motor arranged within the housing and having a constantlyrotating drive shaft extending outwardly of the opposite end of thehousing; a drive roller, arranged axially transverse to the bar, mountedupon and connected to the drive shaft for constant rotation therewith,the housing and drive shaft being of a length to bridge the spacebetween the machine shaft and bar so that the roller peripherallycontacts the bar, when the housing is rocked towards the bar, forexerting a longitudinally directed thrust thereon for moving the barthrough the spindle; a cam follower secured to the housing andinterengaging with a cam secured upon and rotated by said rotating drum,the cam being formed to move the follower and thus rock the housingtowards the bar when said lock means is unlocked and permit the housingto rock away from the bar when said lock means is locked.
 2. Aconstruction as defined in claim 1, and including a cup-shaped,rotatable cover fitted over and receiving said housing opposite end; thebase of the cover being formed with a centrally located hollow mountingshaft into which the motor drive shaft extends and is secured, so thatthe cover rotates with said drive shaft; said roller being fitted uponand secured to said mounting shaft with one face of the roller arrangedagainst the base of said cover.
 3. A construction as defined in claim 2,and including support bearings operatively arranged between the walldefining said cover and the portion of the exterior wall of the housingreceived within said cover for rotatably supporting the cover upon thehousing and for thereby transmitting transverse loads applied to theroller through the cover to the housing.
 4. A construction as defined inclaim 2, and said roller being formed as inner and outer roller halveswith the inner half arranged against said cover base and the outer halfbeing slidably mounted upon the mounting shaft for axially slidingtowards and away from the inner half; and a peripheral, bar receivinggrove formed in the peripheral edge of the roller, with each of theadjacent peripheral edges of the roller halves formed into one half ofthe groove; and an adjustable spring mounted upon the mounting shaft forspring resisting movement of the outer roller half away from the innerroller half when the bar is received within said groove.
 5. Aconstruction as defined in claim 4, and said spring means comprising anannular, truncated conically shaped spring surrounding said mountingshaft and having an annular edge engaging against the outer roller halfand its opposite annular edge engaged against a nut axially adjustablymounted upon said mounting shaft for adjusting the spring compressiveforce.
 6. A construction as defined in claim 1, and said cam followercomprising a roller and said cam comprising a disk having a continuousroller receiving groove formed in one face thereof, with a portion ofthe groove being spaced further from the disk axis than the remainder ofthe groove, for rocking the roller and thereby the housing towards andaway from the bar.